Project Summary Developmental Research Program (DRP) The DRP will continue to be carried out for the purpose of identifying and facilitating innovative new pilot projects in head and neck cancer (HNC) research. The specific goals of this Program are: 1) to provide seed funding opportunities for initial investigation of promising novel research in HNC; 2) to stimulate basic, clinical, and translational HNC research in areas of high priority to the SPORE; 3) to facilitate development of pilot projects into full project status in the SPORE or to be competitive for independent investigator-initiated proposals to other funding agencies; and 4) to increase the visibility of SPORE activities and increase participation among the institution?s clinicians and researchers. Our design for the DRP in this renewal application is similar to the process used during the first grant period, which proved successful. Drs. Jennifer R. Grandis, Robert L. Ferris, and Jonas T. Johnson, and all with ongoing experience in administering this Developmental Program, will continue to provide leadership for this program to foster translational head and neck cancer research. During the past grant period, the DRP funded 11 DRP projects in basic, translational, and clinical research. The DRP Directors track the progress of the successful applications and assign mentors to funded investigators to ensure that they obtain any needed services from the SPORE Cores and that they are effectively integrated into the SPORE program. Awardees present their research results to the SPORE investigators after one year of funding to be eligible for a second year of support. Progress toward translation as well as impact and innovation will determine whether DRP projects are found to merit promotion to full SPORE projects. In the past funding period, productive and innovative research funded by DRP awards to Drs. J. Bauman (and D. Johnson) and Y. Nikiforov (and L. Yip and U. Duvvuri) have been promoted to full projects, Projects 1 and 4 respectively, in this renewal application. Awardees are also assigned mentors and advised, as appropriate, in the preparation of grant applications for funding outside the SPORE mechanism and given access to SPORE Core resources to aid in this endeavor. DRP-supported research has led to 4 NIH awards (R01CA112219, R01EB016516, R21CA167373, & R21CA180211). There are also several grant applications submitted or planned based on DRP results from the previous grant period, including an R21 and two additional R01 applications. The DRP will continue to utilize institutional web-based resources to solicit proposals from notify the research community at the Univ. of Pittsburgh. A standing DRP Committee, together with ad hoc reviewers with specific expertise as needed drawn from the UPCI, SPORE Internal & External Advisory Board, and other SPOREs at UPCI, and/or other Head and Neck SPOREs will continue to provide rigorous and consistent peer review of the project proposals. Proposals will be solicited and reviewed on an annual basis. These activities of the DRP will continue to stimulate innovative research toward meeting the translational goals of the SPORE: reduction in the incidence, morbidity, and mortality from head and neck cancers.